


First dance

by Veritea



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Once again I have no idea how to title stuff, Why does everything I write have to have a certain amount of angst smh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:22:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28373088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veritea/pseuds/Veritea
Summary: A (rewrite?) of the dance scene between Blake and Yang in volume 1.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Kudos: 50





	First dance

It was obvious to Blake that Weiss and Yang had put a lot of effort into planning the party that she was currently attending. They’d arranged the curtains so that they would frame the windows just so. They had stationed clusters of pink and blue balloons at regular intervals to add pops of color to the room. There was orchestral music blaring from the speakers placed on either side of the front doors, which were wide open. She suspected that the music had been Weiss’s doing, because there was no way Yang would listen to something so… 

Gentle.

The thought of Yang listening to classical music was enough to make her lips twist into a wry smirk. It only lasted for a few seconds.

She really wished she could appreciate how amazing the party was. Everyone else seemed to be having so much fun, and all she could think about was how wrong this all seemed. Nobody should have been dancing or trying to drink from two glasses of punch simultaneously. They should have all been training. Reading. Researching. Doing something to help stop Roman Torchwick and make the world better.

Villains didn’t rest. They shouldn’t have been slacking off either. 

Reluctantly, she made her way inside, keeping close to the walls and trying to spot Yang. Without her teammate’s interference, she would have probably been in the dorms right now, finishing up one of the books she was currently reading. Yang had been right—she did need a break from working, as much as she disliked admitting it. But she wasn’t sure if going to a party was something that she would consider relaxing. There were always so many people being loud for absolutely no reason, and this particular party was no exception. 

Maybe she could just… slip out and go back to the dorms. Nobody would notice, right? 

No. She was already here, so there would be no point in leaving now. Plus, she had had to go through all of the trouble of styling her hair and finding a proper dress to wear beforehand. She wasn’t about to let all of her work go to waste. 

Well. Here went nothing. 

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Then she began looking through the crowd for familiar faces.

Sun was standing by the punch bowl, laughing at something Neptune was saying. Weiss was trying to straighten out one of the flowers that was in a vase on a nearby table, Ruby was munching on a plate of snacks and standing near the wall, and Yang…

Yang was attempting to throw an empty plastic cup into a garbage can that was ridiculously far away. 

Now was probably a good time to go over and say hi.

Smoothing out the skirt of her dress, she began to edge between groups of people who were standing on the outskirts of the dance floor, gradually making her way over to the speaker. 

Once she was a few steps away, she tentatively reached out and laid a hand on Yang’s shoulder to get her attention. She whirled around, meeting her eyes as a grin spread across her face. 

“Blake!” She hollered over the music. Then her expression softened into something calmer and more understanding. “You came.”

“Only because you said you’d dance with me,” she said, forcing a small smile. 

Yang snorted. “Well, you know me, I always keep my promises.” She cleared her throat, paused, and added, “wait, I have to do this properly.”

A smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth as she got down on one knee and held out her hand, face upturned and expectant. “What do you say, Blake Belladonna? Will you do me the honor of being my first dance of the night?”

Something about how excited and mischievous Yang looked made Blake begin to return her smile—genuinely, this time. She took her teammate’s hand and pulled her to her feet. 

“The honor’s all mine.”

“Great!” Yang grabbed her other hand and dragged her over to the dance floor. There were already a dozen or so couples whirling around, staring into each other’s eyes and moving in almost perfect synchronization. The whole display was sort of intimidating, really. Especially since she was just now realizing that her dancing skills were definitely not on par with everyone else’s. 

“Hey, uh… Yang? Maybe—“

“Just follow me,” she called, moving one of her hands to curl around her waist. Then, slowly, as if sensing Blake’s unspoken hesitation, she began to step forwards, backwards, to the left, and to the right, in a four step pattern. 

This, at least, was easy to follow. After a minute or so, she stopped constantly glancing down at her feet and let herself move in tandem with Yang. 

“Blake?” Yang asked after a while, voice barely audible over the swelling of the violins. 

“Yeah?”

“Why’d you come to the party?”

The question caught her off guard, and she stumbled a bit. Yang’s hand tightened around her waist, moving her back upright, and they continued dancing. 

“I… I don’t know. You asked me to come and everyone else was going to be here and… that’s it, really.”

“Blake.” Despite the fact that she was talking to her, Yang’s eyes were fixed to a point past her shoulder. “You didn’t have to come just because everyone wanted you to. You know that, right?” Her gaze shifted abruptly, and they locked eyes. “We wanted you to relax, not to go somewhere against your will.”

“I’m not here against my will!” She spluttered. “I’m not uncomfortable or anything. I didn’t really want to come, but now I’m glad I did. I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” 

She paused for a bit, trying to figure out how to articulate what she wanted to say.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while and…I really should be more open with you three. I know you want me to, and I’m trying because I’d like to think that you guys are good people, but I just—can’t. And then I end up shutting everyone out and…”

Yang let go of her abruptly and reached over to cup her face with both hands, staring directly at her. Blake’s initial reaction was to jerk away, but Yang was so intently focused on her that she found herself rooted to the spot. At this point, they had stopped moving altogether, and everyone else was dancing around them.

“No. It’s not your fault. I know—“ It looked like her eyes had taken on a reddish tinge, but Blake couldn’t be sure. “I know what it’s like. Having a hard time trusting people, that is. And it’s not your fault. Like you said, you’re trying your best. And that’s more than enough.”

She sounded so earnest that Blake had to fight the urge to tear up a little bit. Instead, she smiled, carefully reaching up to take Yang’s hands in her own.

“Thanks,” she said, and Yang understood everything she meant but couldn’t find the proper words to say. 

The music was getting quieter, fading away just before switching to the next song. Yang glanced over at her, that mischievous glint back in her eyes. 

“The party’s not over yet, y’know,” she said with a smile. “Do you want me to help you make the most of it?”

“I’d love that.” She grinned back. 

She let Yang lead her off the dance floor and over to the crowds clustered around it, trying to keep a smile off of her face. There was something about the way Yang carried herself that was so… reassuring. When you were with her, it seemed like anything was possible. 

Tonight, there would be no more worrying. For a few hours, she would put aside all her responsibilities and plans and just have _fun_.

After all, that was what parties were for. 

  
  



End file.
